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DISCOURSE. 



The Rhode Island Historical Society having requested me to 
prepare a discourse for this their anniversary public meeting, I 
: have chosen for my subject a history of the Battle of Lake Erie. 

I have made this choice, first, because this battle is a part of 
Rhode-Island History, and therefore appropriate to the occasion ; 
secondly, because I could speak of it from personal knowledge ; 
and thirdly, because a very inaccurate and perverted account of 
it has been written and imposed upon the pmblic by the late J. 
Fenimore Cooper, Esquire. I am aware that this gentleman's 
mistakes and misrepresentations should have been, noticed and 
corrected before his decease, and my apology for the delay is 
that I never saw the pampMot containing them, nor knew of its 
•existence, until within a few 'days past, and after commencing 
this discourse. 

My aim will be to give an account of the origin of the fleet or 
squadron on the lake ; of its conflict with the British squadron, 
of the consequences, immediate and remote, and in conclusion 
to notice some ©f Mr. Cooper's erroneous positions and false in- 
ferences. 

At the commencement of the war of 1812, Government un- 
dertook the conquest of Upper Canada. General Hull was at 
the head of an army at Detroit, and General Van Rensselaer of 
another on the Niagara river. The former was captured, and 
the latter defeated. At this time, the British held possession of 
Lake Erie, with five armed vessels, and had captured the Adams, 
the only armed vessel we owned upon the Lake. Their ves- 
sels, carrying sailors and Indians, could at any moment strike a 



fatal blow upon any defenceless settlement on the South side of 
the lake, and while the militia were gathering to oppose them, 
they could pounce upon another and another. The surrender of 
Hull exposed the territory at the head of the lake to incursions 
by land, and an attempt to oppose them resulted in the capture 
of General Winchester's army. These three fruitless and disas- 
trous expeditions taught the necessity of creating a fleet on Lake 
Erie, that should command it, and co-operate with Genera! 
Harrison, who then commanded the North Western army. Ac- 
cordingly in the winter of 1812 — 13, the keels of five vessels 
were laid at Erie ; at the same time four or five merchant- 
schooners, being all that were then owned by us on the lake, were 
purchased and armed with two or three guns each. 

There are good reasons, I may here remark, for considering 
the operations on Lake Erie as a part of Rhode-Island history. 
At the commencement of the war, there was a flotilla of gun- 
boats stationed at Newport for the protection of Narragansett 
Bay, which was commanded by Oliver H. Perry, a native of this 
State, then 27 years of age. The interruption of commerce by 
the war, had thrown many captains, mates and seamen out of 
employ, who entered the public service in this flotilla, The ser- 
vice here being inactive, Perry volunteered for the lakes, and 
was ordered to superintend the out-fitting of the fleet at Lake 
Erie. He took with him many of the officers and seamen from 
Newport, and arrived at Erie in March, 1813. This I accounts 
for there being so many Rhode-Islanders in the expedition. — 
Four of the nine commanders, Perry, Turner, Champlin, and 
Almy were from this State, also a majority of the sailing masters 
and mates, and several other officers, with a large number of 
sailors. Besides this, Commodore Perry, Lieulentant Turner, 
late a post-captain, sailing-master Taylor, now a post-captain in 
Newport, superintended the rigging and equipping and arming 
of the fleet. There has never been an expedition set on foot in 
this country, where so large a portion of the officers hailed from 
one State, or accomplished so much work, as was done by Rhode 
Islanders on Lake Erie. 

In May, 1813, Perry left Erie in a four-oared boat for Buffalo, 
where he arrived in twenty-four hours, the distance being 100 



miles. From thence he proceeded to Lake Ontaria, and there 
rendered important services to Commodore Channcy in the cap- 
ture of Fort George. On his way there, he stopped at Black 
Rock, near Buffalo, to hasten the arming and outfitting of the 
five merchant schooners, and on his way back to Erie he took 
with him from Chauncy's fleet a few men, and borrowed two 
companies of infantry from the army, with which he manned 
the vessels and sailed to Erie. It was a Herculean labor to drag 
these vessels by land up the rapids at Black Rock into the Lake, 
and required nearly a week with two hundred men, who warped 
them with ropes over their shoulders. Soon after getting safely 
into the Lake off Buffalo, we sailed for Erie. On the day fol- 
lowing, Captain Perry was taken down with a fever. On the 
next succeeding day, a small boat with two men appeared under 
the lake-shore, rowing toward our vessels. They brought us 
intelligence from Erie that the enemy had just appeared there, 
and was probably in pursuit of us. Perry immediately took the 
deck, and gave orders to the other vessels to prepare for action, 
and to board the enemy should he come near us. Fortunately 
we were not discovered, and on the evening of the next day our 
little squadron entered Erie in safety. 

No one who hears me can form any idea of the difficulties 
encountered in obtaining cordage, canvas, cannon, powder and 
balls, and all other outfits, which were to be brought to Erie, 
mostly from the seaboard, a distance of four or five hundred 
miles, over bad roads. Notwithstanding, under the direction of 
the Rhode Island officers, the work progressed rapidly and suc- 
cessfully. A regiment' of Pennsylvania militia was tented on a 
ground near the shore where our fleet lay ; and whenever the 
enemy looked in upon us, at the harbor of Erie, which they did 
every few days, this regiment of militia paraded, and made a 
formidable appearance upon the high bank of the lake, as a re- 
pelling force, but in reality, had the enemy approached to de- 
stroy our fleet they could have done little to prevent it. They 
however served as a sort of scare-crow, to frighten him away. 

The enemy, on learning that a fleet was preparing to gain pos- 
session of the lake, had early in the spring laid the keel of a 
ship larger than had ever floated upon the lake, which added to 



6 

their other vessels, made their fleet to consist of the following 
force : Detroit, (new ship) nineteen guns ; Queen Charlotte, sev- 
enteen guns ; Lady Prevost, thirteen guns ; Hunter, ten guns ; 
Little Belt, three, and the Chippewa, one ; total, sixty-three 
guns. The American force consisted of the following : Law- 
rence and Niagara, precisely alike, twenty guns each ; Ariel, 
four ; Scorpion, two ; Porcupine, one ; Tigris, one ; Caledonia, 
three ; Somers, two ; Tripp, one ; total, fifty-four guns. 

The Fleet was manned by sailors partly from Newport, and 
partly from Lake Ontario. The two larger vessels, Lawrence 
and Niagara, were built and rigged precisely alike, and carried 
132 officers and men, each. By the 10th of July, the guns were 
mounted on board all the vessels, and the men were exercised 
at them, several times a day. 

On Sunday, the 18th of July, two respectable missionaries 
who were passing through Erie, were invited by the Commo- 
dore on board one of the large ships, where as many officers 
and men as could be spared from all the vessels were assembled 
to hear prayers that were offered up for the success of the expe- 
dition. I shall never forget their fervent pleadings in our behalf, 
that we might subdue the hostile fleet, and thereby wrest from 
savage hands the tomahawk and scalping-knife, that had been 
so cruelly wielded against the defenceless settlers on the frontiers; 
and that in the event of a victory, mercy and kindness might be 
shown to the vanquished. 

The bar of Erie had thus far served as a fortification to pre- 
vent the enemy from entering the harbor where our fleet was 
preparing, but it now presented a serious obstacle to our egress. 
The two large brigs drew three feet of water more than there 
was on the bar. On Sunday evening, the 1st August, the work 
began of clearing the Lawrence of cannon and balls, to lighten 
her ; and immense scows called camels were placed under her 
sides, and being sunk to the water's edge, timbers were passed 
through from side to side of the ship, the ends of which were 
blocked up, resting on these floating foundations. Plugs were 
now put into the scows, and the water bailed out, and as they 
rose they lifted the ship two feet, and this not being enough, the 
ballast and other heavy articles were taken out, till she was 



raised another foot, when she was able to pass over the bar. — 
The Niagara was served in like manner, but the smaller vessels 
had previously passed over without the aid of camels. Before 
the large vessels were fairly over, the enemy hove in sight, and 
fired a few balls, which did not reach us. The Pennsylvania 
regiment paraded, and the small vessels that were out returned 
the enemy's fire. Had they come near enough to do execution 
while we were stuggling over the bar, they might have destroyed 
our fleet with little difficulty. 

On the 6th of August we sailed, with the fleet not more than 
half-officered or manned, across the lake, wishing to encounter 
the enemy before the large new ship joined his squadron ; but, 
they had sailed for Maiden, and we returned to Erie the next 
day, where we found Captain Elliot, just arrived from Lake 
Ontario, with nearly 100 officers and men. A new arrangement 
was now made of officers throughout the fleet, and we soon 
sailed up the lake in pursuit of the enemy, and anchored on the 
15th, in Put-in-bay, in a cluster of islands near the head of the 
lake. On the 17th we sailed to the mouth of Sandusky bay, 
and on anchoring fired three guns, waited ten minutes and fired 
three more. This was a signal previously agreed upon by let- 
ters that passed between Perry and Harrison. In the evening, 
Colonel Gaines, with a number of officers and Indians, arrived on 
board, and reported General Harrison to be twenty-seven miles 
distant, with an army of 8000 militia, regulars and Indians. — 
Our boats were sent to bring the General and his suite on board, 
where they arrived on the 19th, late in a rainy evening. The 
General brought his two aids, Colonel McArthur, afterwards 
Governor of Ohio, and Colonel Cass, now Senator in Congress, 
with many of his principal officers, two hundred soldiers and 
fifty Indians, including the chiefs of several nations. They re- 
mained on board with us two days, to settle the plans of their 
future operations. The General learned that our crews were 
weakened by sickness, and on returning to the army sent us 
some thirty or forty volunteers to serve with our sailors. Our 
crews became still more unhealthy, the Commodore and half of 
the officers were on the sick list with lake-fever. The two 
senior medical officers were confined to their berths, and the 



8 

junior one was so reduced by the disease, that in visiting the 
sick on board the different vessels, he was unable to climb up 
the ship's sides, and he was hoisted in and out like a barrel of 
flour or a cask of water. 

We now looked into the harbor of Maiden, by way of return- 
ing the civilities the enemy had shown us at Erie. This kind 
of polite attention was repeated two or three times, until the 
evening of the 9th of September, when we anchored in Put-in- 
bay. On the following morning at sunrise, there was a cry 
from the mast-head, sail oh ! all hands sprang from their berths, 
and ere we could dress and reach the decks the cry was repeated 
again and again, until six sail were thus announced. Signal 
was made to the fleet, " Enemy in sight ! get under way !" and 
the hoarse voice and shrill pipe of the boatswain resounded 
through all the ships, " all hands up anchor !" 

The wind at this time was from the Southwest, light and baf- 
fling, which prevented our weathering the island in our way, 
and it continued so until ten o'clock, when it veered to the 
Southeast, which enabled us to clear the island, and stand out 
upon the lake. We now discovered the English squadron, five 
or six miles to the leeward, hove to in a line, and equidistant 
about half a cable's length. The vessels were freshly painted, 
and with the morning sun shining upon their broadsides, and 
their red ensigns gently unfolding to the breeze, they made a 
very gallant appearance. Our squadron bore down to engage 
them, with the wind on our larboard quarter. They were ar- 
ranged with the Chippewa, of one long eighteen pounder on a 
pivot ahead ; the Detroit of nineteen guns, bearing the broad 
pendant of the Commodore, next ; the Hunter of ten guns, the 
third ; the Queen Charlotte of seventeen guns, fourth ; the 
Lady Prevost of thirteen guns, fifth, and the Little Belt of three 
guns, sixth. Captain Perry immediately arranged his line of 
battle, with his own ship to fight the Detroit, broad pendant 
against broad pendant, Commodore against Commodore. Two 
gun-boats, the Ariel and Scorpion, ranged ahead on our larboard 
bow, a little out of a straight line. The Caledonia, of three 
long twenty-four pounders, came next, after the Lawrence, to 
encounter the Hunter ; the Niagara next, to fight the Q,ueen 



9 

Charlotte, and the Somers, Porcupine, Tigris and Tripp, to en- 
counter the Lady Prevost and Little Belt. Thus arranged, our 
fleet moved on to attack the enemy, distant at ten o'clock about 
four or five miles. The Commodore next produced the burgee, 
or fighting flag, hitherto concealed in the ship. It was inscribed 
with large white letters upon a blue ground, that could be read 
throughout the fleet, "Don't give up the Ship," — the last 
words of the expiring Lawrence, and now to be hoisted at the 
mast-head of the flag-ship bearing his name. A spirited appeal 
was made to the crew assembled upon the quarter-deck, who 
returned three hearty cheers that were repeated along the whole 
line of our vessels, and up went the flag to the top of the fore- 
royal. The Commodore brought me a package of papers, 
having a piece of lead attached to them, and gave orders in the 
event of his falling, to throw the papers overboard ; they were 
instructions from Government, and letters from Mrs. Perry. — 
The grog ration being served out, drums and fifes struck up the 
thrilling air, "all hands, all hands, all hands to quarters," calling 
all to their respective stations. The Commodore was on the 
quarter deck with two young officers, Thomas Breese and his 
own brother, Alexander Perry, whose duty it was to run with 
his orders to every part of the ship ; for in the din and uproar 
of battle no officer can be heard ten feet off. The hatches were 
now closed excepting a small aperture ten inches square, through 
which powder-cartridges were to be passed up from the maga- 
zine by boys nimble of foot during the battle, and through 
which light was admitted into the surgeon's room, where the 
wounded were to be brought. The floor of this apartment was 
on a level with the surface of the water outside, and consequent- 
ly the wounded were as much exposed to the enemy's cannon 
balls as if they were on deck. Six men were directed to bring 
the wounded below, and to assist the surgeon in moving them. 
Every preparation being made, and every man at his post, a 
profound silence reigned for more than one hour, — the most try- 
ing part of the whole scene. It was like the stillness of the 
atmosphere that precedes the hurricane. The fleet moved on 
steadily till a quarter before meridian, when the awful suspense 
was relieved by a cannon-shot aimed at us from the flag-ship 



10 

I tetroit.. one mile distant. It was like an electric shock, and 
was soon followed by another. The two gun-boats ahead of 
us now fired one or two long guns. At this time the Ariel, 
Scorpion. Lawrence, Caledonia and Niagara were all in then- 
respective stations in the order they are named, distant from each 
other about half a cable"s length. The other vessels, not sailing 
quite so well, were a little out of their stations astern. At ten 
minutes before twelve, fire was opened from all the long guns 
of the enemy. At five minutes before the meridian, the Law- 
rence beginning to sutler, returned the fire from her long bow 
gun, a twelve pounder, when the two gun boats ahead were or- 
dered by trumpet, to commence the action, and the Caledonia 
and Niagara astern, opened their fire with their long guns, The 
sternmost vessels soon after opened also, but at too great a dis- 
tance to do much injury. Perry finding himself not sufficiently 
near to do execution with his carronades, made all sail again, and 
ordered the word to be passed by trumpet to the vessels astern. 
The order was responded to and transmitted along the line by 
Captain Elliot of the Niagara, whose vessel Avas stationed next 
but one astern of the Lawrence. But the Niagara did not make 
Nail with the Lawrence, and accompany her down into close ac- 
tion as ordered, but continued her long shot with two bow guns, 
(having shifted the left one over to the starboard side.) Perry 
pressed on, and supposing himself near enough, fired his forward 
carronades, but finding they did not tell, he pressed on still near- 
er, suffering terribly, and getting near enough for execution he 
opened a rapid and most destructive fire upon the Detroit. The 
Scorpion and Ariel ahead were not deemed worthy of the ene- 
my's aim, yet those small vessels having heavy cannon fought 
nobly and with great effect. The Caledonia astern followed 
the Lawrence into close action against her antagonist the Hunt- 
er. But the Niagara, which, when the battle began was within 
hail of the Lawrence, did not follow her down toward the ene- 
my's line, so as to encounter her antagonist the Q,ueen Charlotte. 
The Niagara, I say, did not make sail when the Lawrence did, 
but hung back for two hours, when she should have followed 
the example of the Lawrence, and grappled with the Q,ueen 
Charlotte at the same time that vessel did the Detroit. The 



11 

Queen was expecting it. but as her antagonist did not come up, 
she shot ahead to fire upon the Lawrence, and in so doing she 
passed the Hunter, that had been ahead between her and the 
Detroit. After a lapse of two hours Elliot filled his sails and 
came up, the Caledonia moved on towards the Hunter, which 
had now dropped astern and to the leeward of the Queen. — 
Elliot in order to approach the Queen must pass the Caledonia, 
which he did to the windward or outside of her. and was ap- 
proaching the Lawrence, which, however, was crippled and was 
dropping astern a perfect wreck. Elliot then, instead of passing 
directly down to engage the Queen, luffed to the windward to 
so round and outside of the Lawrence, and while abreast of her 
larboard beam, and nearly half a mile distant, Perry left the 
Lawrence for the Niagara in a boat, and boarded her when she 
had reached a little ahead of the Lawrence on her larboard bow. 
The Lawrence now hauled down her flag and ceased firing. — 
Perry sent Elliot to the small vessels astern to bring them up, 
and turning his ship's head eight points towards the enemy's 
line, making a right angle in her course, he went within pistol- 
shot of the Detroit's bow, and took a raking position. The De- 
troit in attempting to wear to bring her broadside to her. fell on 
board the Queen Charlotte, and gave Perry a chance to rake 
both ships, which he did so effectually that in five minutes they 
hauled down their colors. Perry now shot further ahead near 
the Lady Prevost, which from being crippled in her rudder, had 
drifted out of her place to the leeward, and was pressing forward 
toward the head of the line to support the two ships. Perry 
gave her a broad-side which silenced her battery. The Hunter 
next struck, and the two smaller vessels attempted to escape, but 
were overhauled by the Scorpion and Tripp, and thus ended the 
action at near four o'clock, P. M. 

Let us now advert for a moment to the scenes exhibited in 
the flag-ship Lawrence. The wounded began to come down 
before the Lawrence opened her battery, and for one I felt im- 
patient at the delay. In proper time however as it proved, the 
dogs of war were let loose from their leash, and it seemed as 
though heaven and earth were at logger-heads. For more than 
two long hours, little could be heard but the deafening thunders 



12 

of our own broad-sides, the crash of balls dashing through our 
timbers, and the shrieks of the wounded. These were brought 
down faster than I could attend to them, farther than to stay the 
bleeding, or support the shattered limbs with splints, and pass 
them forward upon the berth deck. Two or three were killed 
near me, after being wounded. I well remember the complaints 
that the Niagara did not come up. " Why does she hang back 
so, out of the battle ?" Among those early brought down was 
Lieutenant Brooks, son of the late Governor Brooks, of Massa- 
chusetts, a most accomplished gentleman and officer ; and re- 
nowned for personal beauty. A cannon-ball had struck him in 
the hip, he knew his doom, and inquired how long he should 
live ; I told him a few hours. He inquired two or three times 
how the day was going, and expressed a hope that the Commo- 
dore would be spared. But new-comers from deck brought 
more and more dismal reports, until finally it was announced 
that we had struck. In the lamentations of despair among the 
wounded, I lost sight of poor Brooks for a few minutes, but 
when the electrifying cry was heard that the enemy's two ships 
had struck, I rushed on deck to see if it were true, and then to 
poor Brooks to cheer him, but he was no more, — he was too 
much exhausted by his wounds to survive the confusion that 
preceded this happy transition. 

When the battle had raged an hour and a half, I heard a call 
for me at the small sky-light, and stepping toward it I saw it 
was the Commodore, whose countenance was as calm and pla- 
cid as if on ordinary duty. "Doctor," said he, "send me one 
of your men," meaning one of the six that were to assist me, 
which was done instantly. In five minutes the call was repeat- 
ed and obeyed, and at the seventh call I told him he had them 
all. He asked if any could pull a rope, when two or three of 
the wounded crawled upon deck to lend a feeble hand in pulling 
at the last guns. 

When the battle was raging most severely, Midshipman Lamb 
came down with his arm badly fractured ; I applied a splint and 
requested him to go forward and lie down ; as he was leaving 
me, and while my hand was on him, a cannon-ball struck him 
in the side, and dashed him against the other side of the room. 



13 

which instantly terminated his sufferings. Charles Pohig, a 
Narragansett Indian, who was badly wounded, suffered iu like 
manner. 

There were other incidents that were less painful to witness. 
The Commodore's dog had secreted himself in the bottom of 
•the closet containing all our crockery. A cannon-ball passed 
through the closet, and smashed crockery and door, covering the 
floor with fragments. The dog set up a barking protest against 
the right of such an invasion of his chosen retirement. 

Lieutenant Yarnelhad his scalp badly torn, and came below 
with the blood streaming over his face ; some lint was hastily 
applied and confined with a large bandanna, with directions to 
report himself for better dressing after the battle, and he insisted 
on returning to the deck. The cannon-balls had knocked to 
pieces the hammocks stowed away on deck, and let loose their 
contents, which were reed or flag tops, that floated in the air 
like feathers and gave the appearance of a snow-storm. These 
lighted upon Yarnel's head covered with blood, and on coming 
below with another injury, his bloody face covered with the cat 
tails made his head resemble that of a huge owl. Some of the 
wounded roared out with laughter that the devil had come for us. 

The hard fighting terminated about three o'clock. As the 
smoke cleared away the two fleets were found completely min- 
gled, the small vessels astern having come up to the others. — 
The shattered Lawrence lying to the windward was once more 
able to hoist her flag, which was cheered by a few feeble voices 
onboard, making a melancholy sound compared with the bois- 
terous cheers that preceded the battle. 

The proud though painful duty of taking possession of the 
conquered ships was now performed. The Detroit was nearly 
dismantled, and the destruction and carnage had been dreadful. 
The Queen was in a condition little better. The whole num- 
ber killed in the British fleet was forty-one, and of wounded 
ninety-four. Every commander and second in command, says 
Barclay in his official report, was either killed or wounded. In 
our fleet were twenty-seven killed, and ninety-six wounded ; of 
the twenty-seven killed, twenty-two were on board the Law- 
rence, and of the ninety-six wounded, sixty-one worn on bonrrl 



14 

this same ship, making eighty-three killed and wounded out of 

one hundred and one reported fit for duty in the Lawrence 
on the morning of the battle. On board the Niagara were two 
killed and twenty-three wounded, making twenty-five ; and out 
of these twenty-five, twenty-two were killed or wounded after 
Perry took command of her. 

.About four o'clock, a boat was- discovered approaching the 
Lawrence. Soon the Commodore was recognized in her; who 
was returning to resume the command of his tattered ship, de- 
termined that the remnant of her crew should have the satisfacf- 
tion of witnessing the formal surrender of the British officers. — 
It was a time of conflictng emotions when he stepped upon 
deck ; the battle was won and he was safe, but the deck was 
slippery with blood, and strewn with the bodies of twenty offi- 
cers and men, some of whom had set at table with us at our 
last meal, and the ship resounded everywhere with the groans 
of the wounded. Those of us who were spared and able to 
walk, met him at the gangway to welcome him on board, but 
the salutation was a silent one on both sides ; not a word could 
find utterance. 

And now the British officers arrived, one from each vessel, to 
tender their submission, and with it their swords. "When they 
had approached, picking their way among the wreck and car- 
nage of the deck, they held their swords with the hilts toward 
Perry, and tendered them to his acceptance. With a dignified 
and solemn air, the most remote possible from any betrayal of 
exultation, and in a low tone of voice, he requested them to re- 
tain their side-arms, inquired with deep consern for Commodore 
Barclay and the wounded officers, tendering to them evsry com- 
fort his ship afforded," and expressing his regret that he had not 
a spare medical officer to send them, adding that he had only 
one on duty for the fleet, who had his hands full. 

Among the ninety-six wounded there occurred three deaths ; 
;i result so favorable was attributable to the plentiful supply of 
provisions brought off from the Ohio shore, to fresh air, the 
wounded being ranged under an awning on the deck until we 
arrived at Erie ten days after the action, and also to the devoted 
attention of Commodore Perry to every want. 



15 

Those who were killed ia the battle were committed to the 
deep at night-fall, the Episcopal service being read over them. 
Oa the following morning, the two fleets sailed into Put-in-bay, 
where the slain officers were buried on shore. The scene was 
a solemn one. Equal respect was paid to the slain of the two 
fleets. Minute-guns were fired from the fleet, a martial band 
preceded, performing a funeral dirge, and the corpses were 
ranged in alternate order of American and British, and the pro- 
cession followed in like order to the graves, where the funeral 
service was read. A striking contrast this to the scene presented 
•two days before, when both the living and the dead now form- 
ing this solemn and fraternal train were engaged in fierce and 
bloody strife, hurling at each other the thunder-bolts of war. — 
When will Christian nations learn to act like consistent Chris- 
tians ? 

On the 8th day after the action, the Lawrence was despatched 
to Erie with the wounded, where we received a cordial welcome 
and kind hospitality. The remainder of the fleet conveyed Har- 
rison's army to Maiden, and some of the vessels ascended the 
Detroit river. Harrison found the army of General Proctor had 
gone, after burning the public stores, and had retreated toward 
the Thames. Perry joined Harrison as a volunteer aid, and our 
troops pursued, overtook and captured the army, the only army 
that was captured during the war. Proctor escaped, his com- 
panion Tecumseh, there is every reason to believe was killed, 
since a dozen persons claim the honor of firing the fatal ball. — 
Perry then accompanied Harrison and Commodore Barclay to 
Erie, where they landed amid peals of cannon and the shouts of 
the multitude. Perry thence returned to Newport, receiving on 
his way the acclamations of a grateful people in every city and 
village through which he passed. 

In reviewing the incidents of the battle, we must admit that 
in several particulars the enemy had hard luck, which contributed 
to their defeat and capture. The wind turned in our favor 
before the action began. The Commanders of their two vessels 
were killed or severely wounded early; the rudder of the Lady 
Prevost was disabled, which caused her to drift out of the line ; 
and worse than this, the running of the Queen against the De- 



t6 

troit, wlncli prevented her wearing, and exposed both ships to sa 
raking fire from the thrity-two pound carronadcs of the Niagara,. 
afresh ship, and in prime order, — all helped to turn the day in 
our favor. To this it should be added that the enemy were 
just out of port, and had not been training their guns daily for 
weeks, as our men had done, which enabled them to load and' 
fire with astonishing frequency. 

Immediately after the battle, the Commodore despatched to 
General Harrison the following note : " Dear General, We have 
met the enemy and they are ours, two ships, two brigs, one sloop 
and one schooner/ 1 adding in a postscript, "send us some soldiers 
to help take care of the prisoners, who are more numerous than 
ourselves." At the same time he announced the victory to the 
Secretary of the Navy in the following words. " It has pleased 
the Almighty to give to the arms of the United States a signal 
victory over their enemies on this lake. The British squadron, 
consisting of two ships, two brigs, one sloop and one schooner, 
have this moment surrendered to the force under my command 
after a sharp conflict." 

And now followed the more difficult task of making out a de- 
tailed report, in which Perry must speak of the conduct of the 
principal deck-officers of the fleet ; a task that was quite as per- 
plexing to him as the fighting of the battle had been. 

The officers of the small vessels came on board the Lawrence 
on the second evening from the battle, and all of them, without 
exception, expressed but one opinion of the conduct of Elliot, in 
keeping out of the battle, that he held back more than two 
hours from engaging his antagonist the Queen, that when the' 
Lawrence was much crippled and began to drop astern, the Ni- 
agara then came up abreast of her, not between her and the ene- 
my, but faraway outside, much farther from the Lawrence than 
the Lawrence was from the enemy, that Perry at this moment 
having fought his own ship to the last, entered a boat with five 
men, and rowed to the Niagara, and by the time he reached her 
she was on the larboard bow of the Lawrence, from a third to 
half a mile distant. That he immediately despatched Captain 
Elliot to the stern vessels, and turned the Niagara's head to- 
ward the enemy, so as to make nearly a right angle with the 



17 

course she had been steering, and crossing the line the Lawrence 
was steering, about sixty yards ahead of her, came within pistol- 
shot of the enemy's flag-ship Detroit. These facts every officer 
agreed to, and the log-book of the Lawrence, written up on the 
evening of the battle, and which is the best official document 
that could be furnished, states them in about so many words. 

Nor did any one suppose that Elliot or any of his officers 
would take any ground contrary to these facts. But Elliot per- 
ceiving their bearing, and to save himself, began to pay court to 
Perry. He took to his bed and sent for Dr. Parsons to visit 
him on the second day after the battle, who could discover no 
positive disease upon him. He spoke disparagingly of his Sur- 
geon, remarking that he was siciv, and it well was good for noth- 
ing, and requested Dr. Parsons to attend his wounded, who re- 
plied that Dr. Barton was a good Surgeon, and in a few days 
would be able to return to duty. The wounded were however 
all removed on board the Lawrence, now made a general hospi- 
tal ship, to be sent to Erie. Elliot also sent for Perry while 
thus confined to his bed, when he expressed to him his regret 
that he had not entered earlier into the action, extolled Perry's 
conduct and offered some lame excuse for his own ; and this in- 
sinuating course induced Commodore Perry, under the gener- 
ous impulses of his nature, to try to save him. Perry knew 
that the officers of all the vessels of the fleet, except the Niaga- 
ra, had expressed their opinion against Elliot ; and fearing that 
their letters to their friends might ruin him, he sent two confi- 
dential persons, Messrs. Hambleton and Turner, to all the fleet, 
to say that he, Perry, though not satisfied with Elliot's con- 
duct, wished to save him, and requested that they would be si- 
lent, respecting the fact of his keeping out of battle for more 
than two hours, adding, that there was honor enough gained for 
the fleet to enable it to save Elliot. They all but one com- 
plied with this request ; but some of the volunteers from the ar- 
my were not applied to, and some of their letters, with one from 
Yarnel escaped, in which Elliot's conduct was condemned. 

Of course when Perry's official report appeared in print, the 
officers of the Lawrence were dissatisfied at his saying so much 
in favor of Elliot. They had expected that he would not 



18 

speak of him at all. But Perry had resolved to save him from 
public censure, and therefore says in his report, "at half-past 
two, the wind springing up, Captain Elliot was enabled to bring 
his vessel gallantly into close action. I immediately went on 
board of her, when he anticipated my wishes by volunteering 
to bring up the schooners into close action." (See Appendix.) 

Beside this desire to save Elliot, Perry was unwilling that the 
enemy should know, that the second in command in our squad- 
ron had failed in his duty. In expressing his doubts to Mr. 
Hambleton, his confidential friend, at the time of drawing up 
the report, he quoted with approbation the declaration of an 
English admiral. " It is better to screen a coward, than to let 
the enemy know there is one in the fleet." 

Perry before signing his official report, allowed Elliot to see 
what he had written, with which he expressed himself as satis- 
fied. But the stubborn fact there stated that " at half-past two, 
the wind springing up, enabled him to bring his ship gallantly 
into action," coupled with the inquiry which he foresaw the 
public would naturally make, why he did not advance to his 
station when the Lawrence pushed forward into hers, both ships 
being in all respects alike, and having the same wind, — this 
stared him in the face. He applied to Perry to vary that state- 
ment in some way, so as to screen him. He also immediately 
and secretly drew certificates from his own officers, showing that 
he had done his duty, which as they belonged to the ship whose 
reputation seemed to involve their own, under the moulding in- 
fluence which a commander always has over his officers, they 
were prevailed upon to sign. This was an advantage which 
Perry did not avail himself of; for very soon after the battle he 
left the fleet for home, unconscious that Elliot was busily at 
work in obtaining certificates from his officers. When the cer- 
tificates of the Lawrence's officers were obtained some years 
after, not one of them was under Perry's command. 

At the same time that Elliot was obtaining these certificates 
he was making artful appeals to Perry for stronger expressions 
of praise upon his conduct. On the 18th of September, he said 
in a note to Perry, that his reputation was suifering in the n eigh- 
borhood of his family, and requested a written statement from 



19 

him as to his conduct in the battle. Perry, not knowing the 
insidious course that Elliot was pursuing toward him, wrote a 
very favorable letter, supposing he wished to send it to his fam- 
ily ; doubtless he was irritated by the thought that his wish to 
save Elliot had been frustrated. He expressed himself as being 
dissatisfied and vexed at being thwarted in his determined pur- 
pose, and in this state of mind, and moved by the pathetic ap- 
peal of Elliot, he wrote him the following letter. 

"Sept. 19, 1813. 
"Dear Sir, 

I received your note last evening after I had turned in, or I should 
have answered it immediately. I am indignant tliRt any report should be in cir- 
culation prejudicial to your character, as respects the action of the 10th instant. 
It affords me pleasure that I have it in my power to assure you, that the con- 
duct of yourself, officers, and crew was such as to meet my warmest approbation. 
And I consider the circumstance of your volunteering and bringing the smaller 
vessels into closer action, as contributing largely to our victory. I shall ever be- 
lieve it a premeditated plan of the enemy to disable our commanding vessel, by 
bringing all their force to bear upon her ; and I am satisfied, had they not pur- 
sued their course, the engagement would not have lasted thirty minutes. I have 
no doubt, if the Charlotte had not made sail and engaged the Lawrence, the Ni- 
agara would have taken her in twenty minutes. 

Respectfully, &c. 

O. II. PERRY." 

This may be regarded as a rope thrown to a drowning man, 
but whirh instead of saving Elliot, enabled him to pull Perry 
overboard. 

In a letter to his friend Hambleton, a few months after, when 
he heard of Elliot's intrigues, Perry says, " I was sensible on 
reflection, I had already said too much in my official report." — 
" Subsequently I became involved in his snares ; and on his 
writing me a note of which he has published only a part, I was 
silly enough to write him in reply the foolish letter of the 19th 
of September, because I thought it necessary to persevere in 
endeavoring to save him." " This undoubtedly reflects on my 
head, but not on my heart. I was willing enough to share with 
him and others the fame I had acquired." Again he says, u It 
was a matter of great doubt when I reflected upon Elliot's con- 
duct, to what to attribute his keeping so long out of action." — 
" I did not then know enough of human nature to believe that 
any one could be so base as to be guilty of the motive which 
some ascribed to him, namely, a determination to sacrifice me 
by keeping his vessel out of the conflict." 



20 

Learning that Elliot persisted in his intrigues, aiming, to ele- 
vate himself at the expense of his Commander who had endeav- 
ored to save him, Perry spoke of him as one who would find it 
for his interest to say less about Lake Erie, as he would injure 
himself by bringing before the public eye a different and truer 
representation of his conduct than had hitherto been given. — 
Some of his remarks of this nature reached Elliot's ear, upon 
which he sent Perry a challenge with an insulting note, who 
responded, that he would be entitled to a meeting when he had 
cleared himself from the charges about to be forwarded to the 
Secretary of the Navy. Accompanying the charges was a letter 
from Perry, explanatory of his whole course of action towards 
Captain Elliot from and after the battle, a few extracts from which 
are inserted. He says, " At the moment of writing my Official 
Report I did in my own mind avoid coming to any conclusion 
to what cause the conduct of Captain Elliot was to be imputed : 
Nor was I then fully acquainted with all the circumstances re- 
lating to it." * * "I was, after the engagement commenced, 
necessarily too much engaged in the actual scene before me, to 
reflect deliberately upon the cause which conkl induce Captain 
Elliot to keep his vessel so distant both from me and the enemy. 
And, after the battle was won, I felt no disposition rigidly to 
examine into the conduct of any of the officers of the fleet ; 
and, strange as the behaviour of Captain Elliot had been, yet I 
could not allow myself to come to a decided opinion." 

" The subsequent conduct also of Captain Elliot ; the readi- 
ness with which he undertook the most minute services ; the 
unfortunate situation in which he now stood, which he lamented 
to me, and his marked endeavors to conciliate protection, were 
calculated to have their effect. But, still more than all, I was 
actuated by a strong desire that, in the fleet I then had the hon- 
or to command, there should be nothing but harmony after the 
victory had been gained, and that nothing should transpire which 
would bring reproach upon any part of it, or convert into crimi- 
nation the praises to which it was entitled, and which I wished 
.■ill to share and enjoy. The difficulties produced in my mind 
by these considerations were, at the time, fully expressed to an 
c fiicer of the fleet, in whom 1 had great confidence. If I omit- 



*2l 

ed to name Captain Elliot, or named him without credit, I might 
not only ruin that officer, hut at the same time give occasion to 
animadversions which, at that period, I thought would be little 
to the honor or advantage of the service. It' my Official Report 
of that transaction is reverted to, these embarrassments with re- 
spect to Captain Elliot, under which I labored in drawing it, 
will, I believe, be apparent. That report was very different 
from what had been expected by the officers of the fleet ; but, 
having adopted the course which I thought most prudent to pur- 
sue with regard to Captain Elliot, I entreated them to acquiesce 
in it, and made every exertion in my power to prevent any far- 
ther remarks .on his conduct, and even furnished him with a fa- 
vorable letter or certificate for the same purpose, of which he has 
since made a very unjustifiable use." These extracts arc inser- 
ted out of their place, in order to show what Perry's opinion of 
him was during the five years after he left Lake Erie. 

Perry's life was saved amid the carnage of his own ship, and 
he was enabled to come off victorious in the fresh ship which 
Elliot had reserved from danger, in order that he might pluck 
the laurels with his own hand. The conduct of Elliot, although 
it doomed the Lawrence to a dreadful slaughter and prolonged 
the conflict, was not after all an unmixed evil in its consequen- 
ces. The Niagara was in perfect order for Perry when he 
boarded her, and in much better condition than she could have 
been had she engaged her antagonist early in the fight. 

There is probably not to be found in the history of naval war- 
fare an instance where the heroism of one man has shone with 
such transcendanl lustre over all others, as th*at of Perry in the 
battle of Lake Erie. After fighting his own ship till eighty- 
three were killed or wounded out of one hundred and one, he 
goes to a fresh ship of the same size having only three men in- 
jured, and takes her into the thickest of the fight, and in seven 
minutes adds twenty-two to the list, making one hundred and 
five killed and wounded on the decks on which he stood, while 
the whole number injured on the deck where Elliot stood was 
but three. Then as one hundred and five is to three, so was 
the danger to which Perry was exposed, compared with Elliot's 
exposure. 



t>.> 



Oil the other hand, there is no other instance on record where* 
the second in command has done so little to secure a victory. — 
Elliot arrived on the lake after the labor of building, arming,, 
rigging, and equipping the fleet, a most difficult and perplexing 
task, had been performed by Perry, Turner and Taylor of Rhode 
Island. He sails at once in a ship of the same size and model 
and armament, as the flag-ship. Instead of engaging his-antag- 
onist as ordered, he hangs back, firing one or two long bow- 
guns, which were the only ones that could reach his antagonist; 
he hugs the wind, going far away outside of the line, — he then 
leaves her with only three men injured, to bring up the dull- 
sailing vessels in the rear, which, with the aid of sweeps, they 
had nearly done of themselves before he reached them ; — he 
was probably about as long a time in rowing to these several 
vessels as Perry was in reaching the Detroit within pistol dis- 
tance ; — the victory was gained in a few minutes after, and 
there was no one injured in the small vessels while he, Elliot,, 
was on board of them. 

Prejudiced if not hireling writers, among whom was the late 
J. Fenimore Cooper, whose Naval History contains mistakes 
and mis-statements, have endeavored to retrieve Elliot's reputa- 
tion by asserting that the friends of Perry were not reliable 
witnesses in the case. He intimates that Dr. Parsons' testimony 
shows a strong bias against Elliot, because he testifies some 
years after the battle, that when called on board the Niagara to 
attend their wounded two days after the action, (their surgeon 
being sick,) he inquired at what time in the action they were 
wounded. Cooper wished to convey the idea that the Doctor 
was actuated in this inquiry of the wounded by a desire to draw 
from them evidence against Elliot. Now it happens that the 
Doctor's motive for making the inquiry was altogether foreign 
from what Cooper has falsely imputed. He had not the most 
distant idea of ever being called upon for a written or even a 
verbal statement relating to the matter. His motive was this r 
and only this. The wounded of the Niagara had lain more 
than forty hours with their wounds undressed, and each one 
was impatient and clamorous for first attendance. But as he 
could not dress all at once, it was necessary to adopt some rule 






that should "be equitable, and stop their clamor for some hours ; 
and this rule was, to take them in the order of succession in 
which they fell ; and in making the inquiry who were first 
wounded, two reported themselves as wounded before Perry 
came on board. Others would have reported in like manner if 
they could have done it, but it was conceded by all that these 
two were entitled to first attendance, because they were wound- 
ed before Elliot left the ship, and no others made any such pre- 
tension. It was necessary to adopt the same rule of succession 
in the Lawrence the day previous, and he so stated the fact in 
a surgical account of the battle published soon after it took place, 
and before the controversy between Perry and Elliot appeared 
before the public. Was it fair and honorable in Cooper to as- 
sign false motives for his conduct in this matter, merely for the 
purpose of bolstering the reputation of Elliot ? 

Again, Cooper intimates that the testimony of several officers 
in favor of Perry should be received with much caution : that 
Messrs. Parsons, Breese, Taylor, Champlin and BrowneM appear 
to have been natives of Rhode-Island, and to have accompanied 
Perry when he left the State ; that they were consequently par- 
tisan witnesses, and not entitled to confidence. Now it happens 
that Dr. Parsons never saw Rhode-Island, nor a Rhode-Island 
citizen, until he met these gallant fellows on the Lake, although 
Cooper reiterates the charge not less than five times in the 
pamphlet. Not one of these officers was ever requested by 
Perry or any other person to express an opinion respecting the 
battle, during the five years next after it occurred, and not even 
then, while under his command and influence : whilst thecertifi- 
•eates of the officers -of the Niagara, Elliot hastened to obtain 
immediately after the action, and when the certifiers were under 
his command, and subject to his capricious discipline. Their 
ship being in bad odor with the public, (although their own 
good conduct had never been questioned,) it was natural that 
they should endeavor to place her commander's conduct before 
Perry boarded her, in as favorable a light as possible. Elliot 
began his intrigues with them by representing to Purser Ma- 
grath and Sailing-master Webster, that but for his own exertions 
and intercessions the}' would not have been mentioned in Per- 



24 

ry's official report of the action. Magrath too had about this 
time sent an insulting message to Perry, who had given him an 
order to execute as Purser, to which he replied that he was not 
Commodore Perry's lackey For this disrespect to his command- 
er he was arrested, but after making a suitable apology, he was 
restored to duty. 

You will perceive then the origin of Magrath's vindictive course 
toward Perry. "While smarting under the thought of his arrest, 
and the irritation which Elliot's remarks occasioned, this file- 
leader of his certifiers, wrote the letter extolling Elliot, to the 
Secretary of the Navy, — a distorted version of the battle pub- 
lished in the Erie Gazette, — his own certificate, and last but not 
least, the congratulatory address of the Niagara's officers to 
Elliot. But after a few months' calm reflection, Mr. Magrath. 
said, in my hearing, that he wished his fingers had been cut off 
before he signed those papers ; and Mr. Brownell testifies under 
oath that he wished his hand had been cut off first. A few 
months later Magrath disobeyed an order from Commodore Sin- 
clair, for which he was required to deliver up his commission as 
purser and to leave the service ; which he did, and a few weeks 
after he blew his brains out. Such was the end of the princi- 
pal witness and prime actor in favor of Elliot ; yet Mr. Cooper 
extols him without stint, as the most reliable witness in the whole 
controversy. 

h\ like manner, Lieutenant Couklin, the only commander of 
the small vessels from whom Elliot's importunity drew a certifi- 
cate in his favor, expressed regret months afterward in my hear- 
ing, that he had ever given it, stating that it was obtained under 
the plea that it was to be shown to Mrs. Elliot and other rela- 
tives only, who had heard unfavorable reports of his conduct. — 
This gentleman was afterwards dismissed from the service on 
the charge of intemperance. The other Commanders of the 
small vessels expressed opinions against Elliot, most of them un- 
der oath. Thus you will perceive that the testimony of the 
Commanders of the small vessels was in favor of Perry and 
against Elliot. 

Cooper represents Dr. Parsons several times as a partisan wit- 
j. " Two accounts " he savs "of the loss of the Niagara 



25 

have been given ; that of the official report, and, that of her own 
Surgeon. The former was based on returns made to Elliot by 
Dr. Parsons, and that he endeavors to lessen the loss of this brig, 
under the influence he so early manifested," (meaning, in ques- 
tioning the wounded as to the time they were struck.)* 

Mr. Cooper's calumny, of making out a fraudulent return of 
the number of killed and wounded in the Niagara for the pur- 
pose of disparaging Captain Elliot is easily disposed of by sim- 
ply stating the fact that those returns were made out, not by Dr. 
Parsons, but by Purser Magrath of the Niagara, one of Elliot's 
officers and leading certifiers, and is still preserved in his hand 
writing. 

Mr. Cooper is not satisfied with imputing to Dr. Parsons the 
base design of trying to injure Captain Elliot, when he inquired 
of the wounded of the Niagara, the time they were struck in 
the action, (merely for the purpose of settling their priority of 
claims for surgical aid) which he reiterates over and over ; nor 
with asserting, in five different places in his abusive pamphlet, 
that the Doctor was a native of Rhode-Island and therefore 
prejudiced in favor of Perry and not reliable, (when he had 
never seen Rhode Island;) nor with charging him with making 
out a false return of the number of wounded, (which Magrath 
made out,) but he moreover adds, "nor is Dr. Parsons' affidavit 
uncontradicted by even Perry himself. He says that the wound- 
ed from the first of their coining down, complained that the 
Niagara, commanded by Captain Elliot, did not up come to her 
station, and close with the Charlotte although lie had been or- 
dered by signal ; and this complaint was frequently repeated by 
them until the Lawrence struck, and repeated by Lieutenants 
Brooks, Yarnell, and Claxton." Perry in his official letter says, 
" Lieutenant Yarnell, first of the Lawrence, though several 
times wounded, refused to quit the deck." Here he flatly con- 
tradicts Dr. Parson's affidavit." Now the reader will remember 
the anecdote, how Yarnell came below with bleeding head, 



*Dr. P. states in his affidavit : " The second day after the action I attended 
the wounded of the Niagara, the surgeon of that vessel being sick ; and out of 
twenty cases, not more than one or two said they were wounded while Captain 
Elliot was on board the ship. On board all the :>mall vessels which Captain El- 
liot brought up, the wounded did not exceed two or three. " 



26 

which, alter returning to the deck, was covered with cat-tails 
and made him resemble an owl. Obviously, Captain Perry's 
meaning was that he did not leave the deck permanently, al- 
though repeatedly wounded. Can a more contemptible quibble 
be conceived of than Cooper has here resorted to for the purpose 
of invalidating testimony given under oath ? Was it incumbent 
itain Perry in order to satisfy Mr. Cooper's taste, to specify 
that Yarnell was absent a few moments, two or three times from 
the deck for surgical aid during a bloody action which lasted 
nearly three hours ? Was Dr. Parsons bound to omit the anec- 
dote, merely to please Mr. Cooper, because Captain Perry had 
thus expressed in general terms the heroic conduct of Yarnell, 
whom he left upon deck in command of his tattered ship when 
he boarded the Niagara ? 

( !ooper ranges the witnesses of the Lawrence and Niagara in 
two columns, and exultingly calls the attention of the reader to 
the greater length of the latter list, although he knew, and must 
have felt when he wrote it, that this difference in the length of 
the two columns was owing to the fact that many officers of the 
Lawrence were killed, and none in the Niagara ; that Elliot ob- 
tained their certificates immediately whilst under his command 
and influence, and that Perry's officers were never applied to for 
years after, when some were dead and others scattered, and none 
of them under his command. Was it honorable and ingenuous 
in Cooper to wink out of sight these palpable reasons for the 
different length of the two columns of officers, and exult over 
the Niagara's list as decisive of the controversy in Elliot's favor, 
when the disparity in numbers of survivors resulted from Elliot's 
failing to bear his part in the action ? 

But granting for the sake of the argument, that the officers 
of the Lawrence were partisan witnesses ; — that her doctor 
went on board the Niagara and put leading questions to the 
wounded, for the purpose of disparaging Captain Elliot ; — that 
he was a native of Rhode-Island, and accompanied Perry to the 
l a k es ; — that he made out a false return of the wounded, — all 
which is untrue, — but granting it, and that he is unworthy of 
belief, and that the other officers of the Lawrence are equally 
50, arid admitting on the other hand that the testimony of the 



Ti 

Niagara's officers is equally unreliable from partisan feeling, and 
thus balancing one against the other so as to neutralize both, 
and how then stands the evidence ? The commanders of the 
other vessels of the squadron testify that Elliot did not sustain 
his part in the action, that he held back from engaging his an- 
tagonist two hours. If said in reply, and Cooper has said it, 
that these officers were partial to Perry, then refer the question 
to other arbitrators, who were entire strangers to both Perry and 
Elliot, who were eye-witnesses of the battle, and Cooper was 
not one, — to the British officers, who could have felt no interest 
on either side, for no controversy had yet commenced. — con- 
sider too that Barclay had the strongest possible motives to des- 
cribe the battle accurately, since the least deviation from truth 
from whatever influence, must place his honor and reputation 
ever after at the mercy of his officers, and then ask what was 
their decided opinion on this important subject, Commodore 
Barclay says in his official report, — 

"About 10 o'clock the enemy had cleared the Islands, — and immediately bore 
up, under easy sail, in a line abreast, each brig being also supported by the small 
vessels. At a quarter before 12, I commenced the action by a few long guns; 
about a quarter past 12, the American Commodore, also supported by two 
schooners, came close to action with the Detroit ; the other brig of the enemy," 
(the Niagara,) "apparently destined to engage the Queen Charlotte, kept so far 
to windward as to render the Queen Charlotte's carronades tiseless, while she 
was with the Lady Prevost, exposed to the destructive fire of the Caledonia and 
four other schooners armed with heavy long guns." 

" The action continued with great fury until hah past two, when I perceived 
my opponent drop astem, and a boat passing from him to the Niagara, (which 
vessel was at this time perfectly fresh ; ) the American Commodore seeing that as 
yet the day was against him, (his vessel having struck soon after he left her) and 
also the very defenceless state of the Detroit, which ship was now a perfect 
wreck, principally from the raking lire of the gun-boats, and also that the Queen 
Charlotte was in such a situation, that I could receive very little assistance from 
her, and the Lady Prevost being at this time too far to leeward, from her rudder 
being injured, he" (that is Perry,) "made a noble, and alas ! too successful effort 
to resrain the day, for he bore up, and supported by his small vessels, passed 
within pistol-shot, and took a raking position on our bow; nor could 1 prevent i( . 
as the unfortunate situation of the Queen prevented our wearing; in attempting 
it we fell on board her. My gallant first Lieutenant, Garland, was now mortal- 
ly wounded, and myself so severely that I was obliged to quit the deck. * 
Every officer, commanding vessels, and their seconds, was either killed or wound- 
ed." In conclusion, he adds : "Captain P erry has behaved in a 
humane and most attentive manner, not only to myself and officers, but to all 
the wounded." 

Barclay, you perceive, tells the whole story, in all that is ma- 
terial to the controversy, just as Perry told it in his official re- 
port, with the exception of that part wherein Perry tries to save 



28 

Elliot's reputation ; for which friendly act Elliot never forgave 
him, and Perry had reason never to forgive himself. 

In addition to all this, the officers of the Q,ueen Charlotte did, 
in my hearing, and as Chaplain Breese testifies, did in the hear- 
of himself and others, when they were asked why their ship 
did not engage their antagonist the Niagara, instead of firing up- 
on the Lawrence, state again and again that the Niagara kept so 
far astern and off to the windward that their guns could not 
reach her. 

Let us glance then at the prominent points in the case. 1st, 
Elliot had his station and duty assigned him, to fight the Queen 
Charlotte. Did he perform that duty faithfully? Commodore 
Perry says no: — Commodore Barclay -says no: — The officers of 
the Queen say no : — The commanders of the small vessels say 
no: — The wounded of the Lawrence, while weltering in their 
blood said no: — *Bnt J. Fenimore Cooper, who was not in the 
action, says yes, and from the obliquity that marks what he has 
written on the subject, his mistakes, misstatements, and false as- 
sumptions, such a decision is perfectly in keeping with his char- 
acter. 2nd : If Elliot was in his place, and performed his duty, 
and shared in the danger, how are we to account for the fact 
that he had only three men killed and wounded, when the Law- 
rence had eighty-three, each ship having one hundred and one 
men when the battle began? and how was it that the Niagara 
was a perfectly fresh ship (as the British Commodore states) af- 
ter the Lawrence was a complete wreck ? 

Commodore Barclay on his return to England, after officially 
reporting his defeat and capture, was subjected to the customary 
ordeal of a Court of Inquiry, and was honorably acquitted. — 
The published report of proceedings stated that when Perry ap- 
proached the Niagara in a boat, " she was making away" from 
the fight, and this was copied into some American papers. A 
Court of Inquiry was in session at the time in New York, on 
some cantains who had lost American ships of war, and Elliot, 
unable to withstand this English version of the action, applied 
to the Secretary of the Navy to permit this Court to examine 
the evidence of his conduct, in order to decide, not whether 
he held back from his station in the action, as several affidavits 



29 

state, but whether he attempted to run away. Five witnesses 
were summoned frcm the Niagara, and two from the Lawrence. 
They ail testified that he was not running away. But the at- 
tempt he then made to draw proofs frcm them that lie did his 
duty in the action, was less successful. The two from the 
Lawrence testified adversely. 

In the finding of the Court, it was regretted that contradicto- 
ry testimony was given, but finally concluded that " the Niaga- 
ra was not running away from her antagonist the Queen, but 
that she ran away from the Niagara," (why didn't he run after 
her?) "and that Commodore Perry's official report was correct." 
It is to be borne in mind that none of the commanders of the 
small vessels, nor the Commodore were summoned before the 
Court. The testimony of the two officers adverse to Elliot is 
disposed of by Cooper in a summary manner. "Mr. Forest/' 
he says, " was a man of very feeble capacity, as was Mr.. Yar- 
nell, the other Lieutenant."" Now, both were brave and intel- 
ligent officers, and had behaved gallantly in other actions ; but 
being dead when Cooper wrote his pamphlet, he felt it safe to 
stultify them in order to prop the reputation of Elliot. 

There is a singular perverseness an the course pursued by Mr. 
'Cooper, in his assaults upon the memory and hard earned fame 
•of the lamented Perry. The few pages of his naval history ap- 
propriated to this victory, contain 'many palpable errors. They 
however exhibit two prominent traits. 1st : the mistakes are 
all made to tell against Perry and in favor of Elliot: secondly, 
that their general aim is to diminish the glory reflected by the 
victory 'on American valor and naval skill, by making our fleet 
a vasliry superior force to the enemy's. I have not time to ex- 
hibit the numerous instances showing this tendency, but you 
will find some of them stated in McKenzie's Life of Perry, one 
of the best pieces of biography ever written in this country. — 
But after a lapse of years, when McKenzie had exposed the un- 
fairness of his naval history, Cooper writes in Graham's Maga- 
zine what he calls a Life of Perry, in which he aims his mis- 
siles at the character of that hero, not only in respect to Lake 
Erie matters, but to the subsequent events of his life, particular- 
ly in the Mediterranean, where Perry in a moment of excite- 



JO 

ment, occasioned by what he deemed an insult offered by his 
Marine Officer, Captain Heath, gave him a blow with his fist r 
in atonement for which, and because he had violated the rules 
of the service, he exposed his life to a shot from Heath without! 
raising his own pistol in return. Cooper insinuates that in this 
instance of giving a blow. Perry was intoxicated. The insinua- 
tion is groundless. I was in the ship at the time, and knew 
all the particulars. The act proceeded from a sudden burst of 
passion under what seemed to him a great provocation. Perry 
although he habitually strove to control his temper, was not al- 
ways successful, and it was She only fault I ever found in him. 
13nt what shall be said of Mr. Cooper, who,, because McKenzie 
criticised his naval history and exposed its unfairness, sought 
revenge by aspersing the fame of a deceased hero, who had nev- 
er injured him, and whose fame was among the preeious jew- 
els, not only of Rhode Island but of the nation, and to throw 
his barbed arrows into the hearts of a bereaved family. 

If you ask for further probable motives that actuated Mr. 
Cooper in making his attack upon the character of Perry, a pas- 
sage taken from his strange pamphlet, printed not long' before- 
his decease, and distributed by Captain Elliot among the mem- 
bers of Congress, may assist in the disentanglement of his mo- 
tives. " He has seen his own work," he says, (refering to his 
Naval History) ••condemned, and, so far as the public authori- 
ties were concerned, excluded from the district school libraries, 
and all on account of its supposed frauds in relation to the bat- 
tle on Lake Erie ; while on the other hand he has heard Captain 
McKenzie's Biography of Perry, lauded from one end of the 
Union to the other, and preferred to that place in the libraries 
mentioned, from which his own work has been excluded." — 
Tins fact was too much for his arrogant spirit to bear; it rankled 
in his bosom until his spleen found vent in this pamphlet. 

lean conceive of no other motive for his conduct,, unless it 
were the promise of a silver medal from Elliot, which he is 
known to have received, and which bore on one side the head 
of Cooper surrounded by these words, - ; The personification of 
Honor, Truth and Justice" 

Elliot had the impudence to send one of these- medals to this 



31 

Historical Society, which was rejected, and returned with a. 
preamble and resolutions expressed in the following words : 

"Whereas, wc honor the character and cherish the memory of Commodore 
Oliver H. Perry, and hold in high admiration, the professional skill, heroic val- 
or and noble conduct, shown by him in the battle of Lake Erie, on the 10th of 
September, 1813, by which he achiever! a victory glorious to the American arms, 
and gained a name which to us, as citizens of his native State, is a source of 
honest pride; and whereas, in the published writings of J. Fenimorc Cooper, 
Esquire, relative to that event, he has labored to establish opinions which we 
•can neither adopt nor sanction : and whereas justice requires that this body 
shall not do or participate in any act which may imply its acquiescence in the 
^efforts which have been made in behalf of Commodore Elliot, to establish for him 
a reputation derogatory to the just fame of his deceased Commander: 

It is therefore Resolved, that the Society declines accepting the medal which 
"has been presented in the name of Commodore Elliot ;" and they ordered it to 
\>c returned through the channel by which it was received. 

Fiction had employed so much of Mr. Coopers time and at- 
tention, that he was unable to state matters of fact without draw- 
ing on his imagination in such a way as to distort them into a 
conformity to his prejudices- He early in life exhibited a dogg- 
ed obstinacy of opinion, that made him appear absurd and para- 
doxical. Condradiction of his opinions, however wild, was not 
to be endwred. 'Captain M<rKenzie exposed his errors and mis- 
statements. He was responded to in the viturperative language 
contained in the abusive pamphlet before noticed. The pam- 
phlet however feil -still-born from the press. I never knew that 
such a piece of absurdity was in being until I commenced this 
discourse. In the first three pages I find six mistatements. — 
Yet it was for this pamphlet that Elliot presented tk<e medal "to 
the personifier of kmor, truth and justice?* and which this so- 
ciety rejected. In return, Cooper seeks revenge by a missile 
thrown at this society, inserted in the preface 4o one of the early 
volumes of his last edition, and published a lew months before 
itis death. 

It is a curious fact that with all his assaults upon Perry, not a 
word is said to the disadvantage of Elliot, not an allusion is 
made to his misconduct in the Mediterranean and elsewhere. — 
On the contrary he is everywhere lauded as a paragon of noble 
qualities, as an immaculate hero, although at the very time Coo- 
per was coneocting this strange pamphlet, Elliot was undergo- 
ing a punishment of four years suspension without pay, under 
sentence of a Court Martial, on charges proved against him, of 



32 



a disgraceful character. Yet. neither theseynor any other scan- 
dalous acts of Elliot are even hinted at by " the personifier of 
honor, truth cmd justice." 

Mr. Cooper remarks that a striking characteristic of the battle 
of the lake, is the bitter controversy that ensued in respect to 
the conduct of the two senior commanders. And who, let me 
ask, but himself is chargeable with blame for it ? He was not a 
party interested. His meddling with it was gratuitous and un- 
called-for. With Elliot the case was different. The public be- 
lieved him to have failed in his duty, and to have tarnished his 
character, and it was natural for him to plead not guilty before 
the bar of public opinion, to flounce and flounder, and strive to 
clear himself. But with Cooper the case was different. He- 
seems to have entered the controversy purely from love of it. — 
He strives to save Elliot by disparaging Perry, and from his pen 
has flown more ink and bile than has been shed by all others- 
Much a& Elliofs conduct deserves censure, Cooper's is more rep- 
rehensible. He enters the lists unnecessarily, and purely from 
love o( paradox and thirst for notoriety, unless it were a pros- 
pect of gaining a medal. 

I am well aware that there is little honor gained by striking 
at a dead man, and therefore wish that Mr. Cooper were living 
t<> hear me. But if he while living labored assiduously to cre- 
ate in the public mind false and injurious impressions against the 
illustrious dead, who had never given him provocation ; if he 
strove to tarnish the pure character and fame of Commodore 
Perry, the rich but only legacy left to a bereaved family, and to 
roh this State and the nation of the glory gained for them on 
1 /ike Erie r then it is not only excusable but the bounden duty 
of one who was an eye-witness of the doings on the lake, to* 
correct public opinion, by expunging from their minds the as- 
persions of a calumniator, whether hie be dead or alive. 

Am I accused of severity upon Mr. Cooper, in the foregoing 
strictures? Head his pamphlet, — his abuse of all who testify 
under oath concerning the relative conduct of the two comman- 
ders, favorably to Perry ; — his vituperative attacks upon Capt. 
McKenzie and others who had reviewed the evidence, and plac- 
ed the whole controve.sy in a fair light, and his impotent growls 



33 

at this society, for rejecting the proffered medal of himself, and 
you will decide differently ; for not a tithe of his offensive mis- 
statements and perversions could receive notice in the brief hour 
alloted me on this occasion. 

I know of nothing that should incline me to favor one Com- 
mander more than the other. Certainly there had been no rea- 
son to complain of ill-treatment from either, personally. Nor 
was there any professional jealousy existing among the medical 
officers of the squadron. The other two were ill, and under 
treatment, and I have never heard that either of tham pretended 
to have rendered any assistance to the wounded after the battle 
closed. It was immaterial to me, therefore, who fought vali- 
antly or who failed in his duty, as I was a non-combatant. — 
The care of ninety-six wounded devolved on me, and the hon- 
or or dishonor of performing my duty faithfully or otherwise, 
was the same, whether they were wounded in the Lawrence or 
Niagara, — under Perry or under Elliot. 

A few remarks on the character of Commodore Perry mast 
conclude this discourse, already too long. I have alluded to his 
being passionate under provocation, aside from which he was 
the most exemplary officer I ever knew. Possessed of high- 
toned moral feeling, he was above the low dissipation and sen- 
suality that many officers of his day were prone to indulge in. 
His conversation was remarkably free from profanity and indeli- 
cacy, and in his domestic character he was a model of every 
domestic virtue and grace. His acquirements were respectable. 
On the subjects of history and the drama he was well read, and 
had formed opinions that evinced patient thought. He wrote 
with remarkable facility and in good taste. Trained under the 
experienced teachings of his father and Commodore Rodgers, he 
could not fail of perfection in seamanship and naval discipline. 
"Every germ of merit in his officers was sure to be discovered 
and encouraged by him, and no opportunity was ever lost of 
advancing those who performed their duty with cheerfulness and 
fidelity." He was the most remarkable man I ever saw for 
success in inspiring his officers with a reverential awe in his 
presence, and with a dread of giving him offence. Generous to 
the full extent of his means, his elegant hospitality especially on 



34 

ship-board in foreign ports, reflected great honor on our navy. 
Distinguished visitors ever found his ship in most perfect order, 
and left her with exalted opinions of his graceful and dignified 
manners, and of the strict discipline prevailing among his offi- 
cers and men. 

I feel grateful to my audience for their patient attention. — 
Nearly forty years have rolled away, since Perry gained the me- 
morable victory, — the first one ever gained over a squadron by 
this country, and, with the lapse of time, have passed away most 
of those who were with him. Of the nine commanders of ves- 
sels, only one survives ; and of the fifteen officers of the Law- 
rence, only Capt. Taylor and myself remain. The thought re- 
minds me, as it should do, that my own summons cannot be far 
distant. Entertaining the opinions I honestly do of the inci- 
dents and events of the battle, and of the chief actors in it, — 
opinions which were formed on the spot at the time ; and also 
of the controversy that long after ensued, I have for years felt 
it an imperative duty to present those opinions to the citizens of 
this State on some appropriate occasion. That duty, by your 
appointment is now performed, so far as the brief time allotted 
would permit, and with it has been offered a tribute of respect 
due to the character of the illustrious son of Rhode Island. — 
Ever may his memory remain enshrined in the hearts of the 
people of his native State, and of a grateful nation ! 



APPENDIX. 



AMERICAN OFFICIAL ACCOUNT. 



Copy of a letter from Commodore Perry to the Secretary of the Navy 

U. S. Schooner Ariel, Put-in-Bay, 
13th September, 1813. 

Sir — In my last I informed you that we had captured the enemy's fleet on 
this lake. I have now the honor to give you the most important particulars of 
the action. On the morning of the 10th inst., at sun rise, they were discovered 
from Put-in-Bay, where I lay at anchor with the squadron under my command. 
We got under way, the wind light at S. W. and stood for them. At 10 A. M. 
the wind hauled to S. E. and brought us to windward ; formed the line and 
brought up. At 15 minutes before 12 the enemy commenced firing ; at 5 min- 
utes before 12, the action commenced on our part. Finding their fire very de- 
structive, owing to their long guns, and its being mostly directed to the Law- 
rence, I made sail, and directed the other vessels to follow, for the purpose of 
closing with the enemy. Every brace and boAV fine being shot away, she became 
unmanageable, notwithstanding the great exertions of the Sailing Master. In 
this situation she sustained the action upwards of two hours, within canister 
shot distance, until every gun was rendered useless, and a greater part of the 
crew either killed or wounded. Finding she could no longer annoy the enemy, 
I left her in charge of Lt. Yarnell, who, I was convinced, from the bravery al- 
ready displayed by him, would do what would comport with the honor of the 
flag. At half past 2, the wind springing up Captain Elliot was enabled to bring 
his vessel, the Niagara, gallantly into close action ; I immediately went on board 
of her, when he anticipated my wish by volunteering to bring the schooners, 
which had been kept astern by the lightness of the wind, into close action. It 
was with unspeakable pain that I saw, soon after I got on board the Niagara, 
the flag of the Lawrence come down, although I was perfectly sensible that she 
had been defended to the last, and that to have continued to make a show of 
resistance would have been a wanton sacrifice to the remains of her brave crew. 
But the enemy was not able to take possession of her, and circumstances soon 
permitted her flag again to be hoisted. At 45 minutes past two, the signal was 
made for " close action." The Niagara being very little injured, I determined to 
pass through the enemy's line, bear up and pass ahead of their two ships and a 
brig, giving a raking fire to them from the starboard guns, and to a large schoon- 
er and sloop, from the larboard side, at half pistol shot distance. The smaller 
vessels at this time having got within grape and canister distance, under the di- 
rection of Capt. Elliot, and keeping up a well directed fire, the two ships, a brig, 
and a schooner surrendered, a schooner and sloop making a vain attempt to 
escape. 

Those officers and men who were immediately under my observation, evinced 
the greatest gallantry, and I have no doubt that all others conducted themselves 
as became American officers and seamen. Lieutenant Yamel, first of the Law- 



36 

ience although several times wounded, refused to quit the deck. Midshipman 
Forest, (doing duty as Lieutenant) and Sailing master Taylor, were of great as- 
sistance to me. I have great pain in stating to you the death of Lieutenant 
Brooks, of the Marines, and Midshipman Lau b, both of the Lawrence, and Mid- 
shipman John Clark, of the Scorpion ; they were valuable officers. Mr. Ham- 
bleton, Purser, who volunteered Iris services on deck, was severely wounded late 
in the action. Midshipmen Claxton and Swartwout, of the Lawrence, were se- 
verely wounded. On board the Niagara, Lieutenants Smith and Edwards, and 
Midsliimnan Webster, (doing duty as Sailing Master) behaved in a very hand- 
some manner. Captain Brcvoort, of the army, who acted as a volunteer in the 
capacity of a marine officer on board that vessel, is an excellent and brave officer, 
and with his musquctry, did great execution. Lieut. Turner, commanding the 
Caledonia, brought that vessel into action in the most able manner, and is an offi- 
cer, that in all situations may be relied upon. The Ariel, Lieut. Packet, and 
Scorpion, Sailing-Master Champlin, were enabled to get early into the action, 
and were of great service. Capt. Elliot speaks in the highest terms of Mr. Ma- 
grath, Purser, Avho had been despatched in a boat on service, previous to my get- 
ting on board the Niagara ; and being a seaman, since the action has rendered 
essential service in taking charge of one of the prizes. Of Capt. Elliot, already 
so well known to the government, it would be almost superfluous to speak. In 
this action he evinced his characteristic bravery and judgement, and since the 
close of the action, has given me the most able and essential assistance. 

I have the honor to enclose you a return of the killed and wounded, together 
with a statement of the relative force of the squadrons. The Captain and first 
Lieut, of the Queen Charlotte, and First Lieut, of the Detroit, were killed. Capt. 
Barclay, senior officer, and the commander of the Lady Provost, severely wound- 
ed. Their loss in killed and wounded, I have not yet been able to ascertain ; it 
must, however, have been very great. 

Very respectfully, I have the honor to be, 

Sir, your obedient servant, 

O. II. PERRY. 
The Hon. Wm. Jones, 

Secretary of the Navy. 

Additions made by the publishers. 
In a subsequent letter to the Secretary of the Navy, in January following, the 
Comii" Lore I eaks of other officers: — of the gallantry of Lieut. Holdup of the 
Tripp, . , with Mr. Champlin, in the Scorpion, captured the two vessels that 
attempt i cape: — of the acting Surgeon of the Lawrence he writes as fol- 

lows — " Of Dr. Usher Parsons, Surgeon's mate, I cannot say too much. Incon- 
sequence of the disability of both the other Surgeons, Drs. Barton and Horsely, 
the whole duty of operating, dressing, and attending nearly one hunched wound- 
ed, and as many sick devolved entirely on him, and it must be pleasing to you, 
sir, to reflect lhat of the whole number wounded, only three have died." — [See 
American Annals.] Of Chaplain Thomas Breese, who acted as aid, he also 
makes honorable mention. 
















































































































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